New tank and water.

[Guest]

HI all, i got my new tank and 12 hours later its slightly cloudy in know thats okay, yesterday i added the water then i added some bacteria in a bottle, and added a very very small amount of fish food ( 50 gallon tank) i did a water test to day and the results were strange, this is what i got,

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20

I am i right thinking this is strange, i though there would be traces of ammonia and nitrite first then nitrate, should i do a small water change or add more food or just leave it for a week or so.

(BTW im doing a fishless cycle)

Any comments would be nice,

 

[rich311k]

Test your tap water for nitrates. That may explain the whole thing. You are right those test readings are not what would be expected. Also that nitrate test can be tricky so you may want to do it again. Assuming you are using the AP liquid test kits.

 

[Guest]

Hi rich311k

I did a test of my tap water ( i use a freshwater master test kit (liquid)) and the results were as follow.

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20

So if i start of with putting in water with nitrate being high what should i do, ( i have a 30 gallon tank that has been running for 4 months and that dose not seem to mind the water)

Is there anyway if lowering the NITRATE from the tap water????

 

[rich311k]

Interesting. If you decide to plant it you wont have to worry about fertilizing. Not much you can about it. Only way I know to reduce nitrates is water changes or plants.

It will take more than a few days to see any ammonia from decaying fish food so that part is perfectly normal. It should be ok, you are just going to have to be diligent about water changes to keep your nitrates as low as possible. You could also try ro/di water but that can get expensive.

Are you in farm country sounds like a lot of agricultural run off in your water supply?

 

[Guest]

I live in the uk in Salisbury, the water we get from are taps is from spring water sitting on chalk that is surrounded in farm land, so yeah your right, The other tank i have has got plants in that grow happily, and i dont give them any plant food or Co2 or anything like that so your have been very helpful, thank you. So i think the answer is plants?

 

[BillD]

The short answer is plants. fast growers such as hornwort will help, as it grows very quickly, and requires no special care. It is best left floating. Other fast growers are Vals and anacharis, and some of the stem plants.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the plant recommendation, very nice of you.